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Sunday, June 17, 2012

The PCS Files: Unaccompanied Baggage

Our Unaccompanied Baggage/Express shipment gets picked up tomorrow morning between 0800 and 1000. I've poured over the internet, trying to figure out what the heck to put in that shipment. We've got to be able to go 10 days without whatever we send Express. However, these are also items that we would like to have asap once we arrive in Japan.

Small Bissell vacuumMopBroomShark Steam Cleaner(4) Beach towelsProfessional Gear:Medical books/foldersSome professional clothingI decided to clear out the guest room and put all of our Express shipment in there. Then, when the movers come in the morning to pack up, they won't be all over the house and everything will be in one convenient place for them. This is what I started out with:

I spent most of yesterday and this morning cleaning and laundering things that would be shipping out. At the middle of the day, I paused for a snack (notice my popcorn) and didn't really feel like I'd done much.

Finally, by the afternoon, I started getting things together. I tried to sort things by type and pack some things myself. I bought a couple of space bags to put comforters and pillows in so that they might stay fresh after being washed. I also used a Rubbermaid tub for all the sheets and towels.

I tried to put things in baggies when I could (toy parts, pens, sharpies, extra parts, etc.) and I also took batteries out of things in case they decided to corrode on the way to Japan.

And, let's keep it real. This is what my bedroom looked like for most of the day:

Seeing as how this is my first move by the Navy, I will definitely try to keep an eye on the movers tomorrow so that I can see exactly how they pack and if I can do anything better next time. I might even take some pictures of the poor, unsuspecting movers. Stay tuned!

This would have been so helpful a year ago when we moved to Turkey! I'm not sure what we were thinking when we did our Express Shipment. We definitely learned a lot. We're going to be doing another international move (unexpectedly) soon, so I'll definitely keep this list saved for when it comes time to plan our express shipment!